The Chicago Bears did not start off the 2025 NFL season on the right foot. Chicago lost to Minnesota 27-24 thanks to an epic fourth quarter meltdown. The Bears surrendered 21 unanswered point in the final quarter, which was enough to lose by one score. It was not a good look for the first game of the Ben Johnson era in Chicago.
Week 1 was a tale of two halves for the Bears. And for Caleb Williams specifically.
The second-year quarterback started the game off great. He completed his first 10 passes and scored Chicago's first opening-drive touchdown since the 2023 season.
Williams helped lead the Bears to a four-point advantage at halftime.
But almost everything went wrong during the second half, aside from a few scoring plays.
Caleb became incredibly inefficient in the second half, despite completing 13 of his first 16 attempts. He missed multiple passes during the fourth quarter that could have made a huge difference in the outcome of this game. In fact, he finished the game with a league-worst 29.4% off-target rate according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.
The Bears did look much different than they did during the 2024 season. But in a one-game sample size, some of Williams' worst traits persisted.
Should Bears fans start panicking about Caleb Williams after Week 1 collapse?
It may be too early to place all of the blame on Caleb Williams after Week 1.
Williams had a solid game on paper. He went 21-of-35 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown. Williams also led the team in rushing with six carries for 58 yards and a touchdown.
But he will admit that his execution could have been much better.
“It’s not a play-call thing, it’s not anything like that,” Williams said when asked about head coach Ben Johnson. “It’s just being able go out there and execute the plays that are called and be able to execute them at a high level. That’s something that we take pride in and today that didn’t happen.”
Perhaps more concerning is that Monday's loss was a complete team effort. Yes Williams did not play well in the second half. But he was not alone in making mistakes.
The Bears short-circuited on multiple drives because of pre-snap penalties. Often false start penalties on offense. In total, the Bears committed 12 penalties for 127 yards.
That makes a huge difference, especially in a one-score game.
Bears fans should not solely blame Caleb Williams for Chicago's Week 1 collapse. Chalk this one up to growing pains.
Caleb Williams, Bears will be under a ton of pressure in Week 2
Caleb needs to show that he can bounce back from Monday's ugly loss. Especially because of the significance of Chicago's next game.
Chicago travels to Detroit for another divisional matchup in Week 2.
Ben Johnson will want to beat his old team and prove his worth after losing in Week 1. And Bears fans will desperately want to win that game.
If Caleb struggles again in Week 2, he will be under the microscope like never before.
Bears fans should keep a close eye on how Williams responds in Week 2. If he is still struggling heading into Week 3, then you can start getting worried.
